Binding attachment for sewing machines



Jan. 3, 1961 S. P. CALDWELL BINDING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Sept. 9. 1957 INVENTOR JMQFM BY 42 l v ATTORNEY-5 BINDING ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINES amuel P. Caldwell, Hamden, Conn., assignor to The Greist Manufacturing Company, New Haven, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Filed Sept. 9, 1957, Ser. No. 682,705

Claims. (Cl. 112-137) This invention relates to sewing machine attachment and more particularly to a so-called binder or an attachment for folding a piece of tape or other strip material about the edge of a piece of cloth and sewing it thereon.

Devices of this kind advantageously comprise a guide for the cloth or material which is to be bound and a scroll through which the strip or tape passes to be folded about the edge of the material. As the present structure is adapted to be attached to the usual household sewing machine, it should also comprise an adapter to be secured to the presser bar of the sewing machine and, as it is desirable to adjust the goods being used with respect to the line or path of stitches to be made by the needle, means are provided in the present structure for adjusting the attachment with respect to the adapter so that it may be adjused laterally with respect to the position of the needle.

Moreover, it is desirable in an attachment of this type to render it universal in use so that it may be attached to sewing machines of difierent manufacturers in which the structure of the presser bar may vary to some extent To this end the adapter is detachable so that a different adapter (if required) may be secured to the attachment in order to adapt it to another machine. In this event the structure of the attachment proper will be standard for all machines, and it is only necessary to secure to the attachment the proper adapter.

The attachment also comprises a scroll to fold the strip of material or tape about the edge of the cloth which is to be bound and the size of the scroll which is employed will depend .to some extent upon the width of the strip which is employed.

It is, therefore, desirable to be able to employ different scrolls without having to supply an entirely new attachment to which each of the different scrolls is secured. Therefore, in this instance the scrolls themselves are readily detachable so that a number may be supplied which will be interchangeable and any one of which may be employed with the same structure.

Also in this instance the scroll is not only readily detachable to be replaced by another, but can be adjusted toward and from the needle so as to be properly positioned according to the thickness of the material which is being used.

One object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved binder attachment for sewing machines.

A further object of the invention is to provide a binder attachment for sewing machines having an adapter detachably secured thereto so that it may be readily replaced by one of different form.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a binder attachment for sewing machines wherein the attachment proper and the adapter therefor are adjustably secured together so that the attachment may be adjusted laterally with respect to the line of sewing.

States Patent 0 i 2,966,867 Patented Jan. 3, 1961 A still further object of the invention is to provide a binder attachment for sewing machines having a scroll to fold a strip of material for sewing about the edge of a piece of cloth wherein the scroll is detachably secured in place so that it may be easily detached to be replaced by another of different form or size.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a sewing machine attachment of the character described wherein the scroll may be adjusted toward and from the needle in the direction of the line of sewing so that the scroll may be properly disposed with relation to the thickness of the material being employed.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a binder attachment for sewing machines of the character described which will possess many desirable characteristics of such a device and which at the same time may be made economically of a relatively small number of parts.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed.

in the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a top plan view of a binder attachment embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevational view of the adapter plate;

Fig. 3 is an end view of the attachment shown in Fig 1;

Fig. 4 is an exploded view of the parts of the attachment;

Fig. 5 is an end view of the adjusting cam and spring to which it is attached;

Fig. 6 is a rear elevational view of the parts shown in Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is an end elevational view of the scroll.

To illustrate one embodiment of my invention there is shown in the drawing a binder attachment for sewing machines comprising a main frame having an L-shaped portion consisting of a vertical or upstanding plate member 10 having a horizontal portion 11 extending forwardly from the lower edge thereof. Projecting forwardly from the portion 11 is a relatively narrow neck 12 with which is integrally formed a laterally extending body member 13, this member being inclined upwardly at an angle to the members 11 and 12, as shown more particularly in Figs. 1, 3 and 4. At its free end the laterally extending body member 13 is turned upwardly, as shown at 14 (Fig. 3) and integrally formed at the upturned end of this member is a cloth-supporting apron or plate 15 and a slotted edge guide 16 for piping or the like of more or less usual form. The cloth which is to be bound is fed over the member 15 in its travel through the attachment with its edge in the scroll member to be described hereinafter.

In order that the attachment be secured in place, it is provided with an adapter 17 secured to an adapter plate 18 which, as will be hereinafter described, is detachably secured to the vertical or upstanding plate 10 of the main frame of the attachment. The adapter in this instance consists of a U-shaped member to embrace the presser bar of the sewing machine, a portion of the member being bifurcated, as shown at 19, so that a screw or like attaching device may be received between its legs.

The plate 18 is also provided with an integrally formed, horizontally extending portion 20 whereby it is of L- shaped form in cross section and within the angle formed by this L is slidably disposedthe frame parts 10 and 11, as shown more especially in Fig. 3.

At the upper edge of the plate 18 is a forwardly projecting guide ledge 21, and likewise at the forward edge of the horizontal portion 20 is an upwardly projecting ledge 22 so that, when the parts are nested together, the

3i upper edge of the member 10 is guided against the lower surfaceof the ledge 21, while the forward edge of the member 11 is guided against the inner or rear surface of: the ledge 22. Thus the members 18 and 20, together with the ledges 21 and 22, form a guideway within which the members 1% and 11 are slidably disposed.

In order to secure the parts together the plate-13 is provided with a through opening 23 (Fig. 4), and a pin 24 is adapted to be passed through this opening, this pin having a knob 25 thereon by which it may be manipulated. A bowed plate spring member 26 is disposed on the pin 24 between the knob 25 and the plate It) so as to resiliently urge the plate 10 against the plate 18.

To secure the parts together so that they will be readily and easily detachable in order to attach .adifferenttype of adapter to the main frame, the pin 24 is providedwith an. annular recess 27 adjacent its rear end.which recess, when: the parts are assembled, is adapted to lie rearwardly of the .plate 18 and receive therein alatch memberZSlFig. 2) pivoted at 29 upon the rear face of the plate 18. This latch member is pro:

vided with an open recess 01' slot 30 to receive the pin24, and it may be swung upwardly from full-line to dotted, line position about its pivot shown in Fig. 2 in order to release the pin and permit the adapter plate to be removed. The latch member 28 may be provided with a lug 31 by which it may be engaged for movement to and from operative position.- It will, of course, be understood that the edges of the slot 30 of the latch member will be received in the annular recess 27 of the pin 24.

In order that the attachment be adjustable laterally relative';y to the adapter plate 18 so as to adjust the line of sewing or adjust the goods relatively to theneedle opening 20 in the part 20, the upstanding plate member 10 is provided with an opening 33 shown as rectangular in shape. Within this opening and in theplane of the plate 10-is disposed a cam disk 34 (Figs. 4, and 6) secured eccentrically to the pin 24 so that when the knob 25 is turned, the cam disk 34 will be rotated about the axis of the pin. With this construction it will be seen that, as the cam disk is eccentrically pivoted, rotation of the disk wil effect lateral movements of the frame with respect to the adapter plate 18 and will, therefore, adjust the frame of the attachment with respect to the adapter and with respect to the needle opening 20 so that the attachment will be adjusted with respect to the line or path of sewing. The knob 25 is, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4,- at the front of the attachment so that it will be readily accessible for adjustment. If desired, indicationsfifi may be provided on the adapter plate 18 to cooperate with an indicating mark '37 on the plate in order to indicate to the user the particular adjustment at which the device is set.

The scroll is i.lustrated at land, as shown, is attached to the forwardly and upwardly inclined, laterally extending member 13 in a manner which renders it readily detachable therefrom and also adjustable. As shown more especially in Fig. 1, the forward end of the scroll is turned laterally, as shown at 41, so that the strip of tape will be fed into the scroll from the right, as shown in the drawings, sothat the strip of binding material will not be in the way of the operator sitting in front of the machine. Also this curving of the scroll to the right enables the user to sew around an inside curve which is difficult of performance with a straight scroll.

To the lower surface of the scroll is secured spring clip 42, this member being folded upon itself and provided with a free edge 43 and, as the member is of resilient material such as sheet metal, this free edge may spring away from the body of the clip so as to receive the member 13' frictionally between the two legs of the clip, thus'attaching the scroll member'frictionally in place so that it may be readily detached from the frame. No

fastening members areused to secure the scroll in place as the" frictional attachmentwill besuflicient to hold it,

the clip 42 being sufiiciently wide for this purpose as shown more especially in Fig. 4. If desired, a pin or stop member 44 may be provided on the member 13 to locate the scroll.

It will also be observed that as the scroll is only frictionally secured to the member 13, it may be adjusted in the line of sewing toward and from the needle opening 20 and stillbe frictionally retained in place. This adjustment will compensate for the thickness of the material being used as, when a material of greater thickness isemployed, the rear or discharge end of the scroll should be at a slightly greater distance from the needle of the machine.

While I have shown and described one embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the inventionand within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. A binder attachment for sewing machines comprising a frame, a cloth-supporting apron thereon, a scroll carried by the frame adjacent the apron to fold a piece of material about the cloth on said apron, an adaptersupporting member carrying an adapter for securement to the presser bar of the machine, means for securing said member to the frame for adjustment lateraliy of the line of sewing, said means comprising a plate member on the frame movably secured to the adapter member and a rotatable cam carried by one of said members and means on the other member with which said cam engages to effect relative movement between said members upon rotation of the cam.

2. A binder attachment for sewing machines having a presser bar, said attachment comprising a frame, a clothsupporting apron thereon, a scroll carried by the frame adjacent the apron to fold a piece of material about the cloth on said apron, a platelike member having an adapter secured thereto for securement to the presser bar of the machine, a second plate member on the frame, means for securing said pfate members together to secure the adapter to the frame, and means for effecting relative adjustment of said plates in a direction transversely of the line of sewing, said means comprising an opening in one of said plates, and a rotatable cam member carried by the other plate and disposed Within said opening to engage the edges thereof.

3. An attachment as set forth in claim 2 wherein spring means are provided to urge said plates into abutting relation with each other.

4. In a binder attachment for sewing machines, a plate having an adapted thereon to secure the plate to the presser bar of a sewing machine in a substantially vertical plane, a frame having a substantially vertically disposed plate adapted to lie flatly against said first plate, said second plate having an upwardly inclined flat portion projecting forwardly therefrom and extending laterally of the line of sewing, a cloth-supporting apron carried by said portion adjacent one end thereof, a scroll carried by said upwardly inclined portion adjacent said apron, means to secure said scroll frictionally to said portion for adjustment relatively thereto, means to secure said second plate adjustably to the first plate, and means for adjustably securing said plates together including a cam member rotatably mounted in one of said plates and engaged in an opening of the other of said plates whereby rotation of the cam member effects adjustment of one plate relatively to the other.

5. In a binder attachment for sewing machines, a plate having an adapter thereon to secure the plate to the presser bar of a sewing machine in a substantially vertical plane, a frame havinga substantially vertically disposed plate adaptedto'lie flatly against said first plate, said second plate having an upwardly inclined fiat portion project ing forwardly therefrom and extending laterally of the:

5 line of sewing, a cloth-supporting apron carried by said portion adjacent one end thereof, a scroll carried by said upwardly inclined portion adjacent said apron, means to secure said scroll frictionally to said portion for adjustment relatively thereto, means to secure said second plate 5 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Harlow et al Oct. 12, 1886 Gattone Mar. 26, 1912 Greist et a1. Jan. 28, 1913 Boyler et al. Jan. 27, 1914 Boyler Sept. 8, 1914 Holden Mar. 24, 1925 Seaman Mar. 19, 1935 Greist et a1. Feb. 22, 1938 

